From Leadville, drive south a little over 19 miles on HWY 24 to the turnoff for Clear Creek Reservoir (CR390) and head west. The turn is less than 2 miles south of "Granite." From Buena Vista, drive north just under 15 miles to the same turnoff. Drive west on the graded dirt road to Vicksburg and the Missouri Gulch Trailhead that gives access to Missouri, Belford & Oxford. From that trailhead, keep driving another 2.3miles to the turnoff on the south side of the road for Rockdale. The coordinates provided are for this turnoff. The road angles down past a small group of cabins and parking can be found at 9,940 ft. for passenger vehicles. For 4WD with good clearance, drive on down to Clear Creek, likely passing through some flooded area as you approach the creek. There is no bridge across Clear Creek here. Warning: This is a low water crossing. During runoff season, high water can make this crossing either very risky or impossible. It is often not safe until mid-July to make this crossing. If you do manage to get across, the road will climb up the south embankment steeply and then level off some. The climb out of the creek is often the roughest section of this road. The remainder of the drive is a slow 2.5 miles to the trailhead at 10,880 feet. Last time we were here, there was a large information sign. The trailhead stops short of Clohesy Lake because of private property, however, more recent reports indicate Clohesy Lake has now passed from private hands. If true, then the old roadbed that heads more directly to Clohesy Lake may once again be followed. The start of the bypass trail that has been in use for several years is at the south end of a clearing and into the forest a little. A locked gate prevents continuing on the road to the lake. A simple trail sign indicates the route for Missouri Peak to be to the left and a trail to the right leads to Huron Peak. Only the left (east) trail will take hikers beyond Clohesy Lake and farther up Lake Fork Creek. Coordinates for the end of vehicle access and this upper trailhead are: N 38° 57' 14.87" W 106° 24' 32.04".
The open meadow at the 4WD trailhead offers some at-large camping with no facilities. Otherwise, there are at-large spots on the drive in on CR390 and a somewhat designated campground at the west end of Clear Creek Reservoir. Camping can also be found around Vicksburg, but there is private property there and weekend hiking traffic makes it very difficult to find a place to camp unless you push on past Winfield.